Looking at Young Adults and Youth Culture in the Niederösterreich privat Collection (1930s–1980s)

The Niederösterreich privat collection contains a large amount of film footage on the theme of young people, particularly regarding youth organizations such as the Austrian Boy and Girl Scouts (PfadfinderInnen) and youth fire brigades. This footage could be helpful for studying various local and diachronic differences in the area. Unfortunately, there are few films in the collection relating to such themes such as “first love,” becoming more independent from one’s family, and professional and vocational training. One reason for this is that most of the movies were made by adults and reflect their point of view. Rare images of playing computer games, having fun at parties, and fooling around in the classroom provide glimpses of how young people approached amateur moviemaking themselves.
Many movies convey the material aspect of youth culture in Lower Austria—for example, through a poster hanging on the wall, or a track suit worn for summer camp. This could provide additional information when researching the pictorial language of youth magazines, feature films, music programs, etc.
Other possible topics of research could include group dynamics, training new members in clubs and associations, fashion, and methods of transportation used by young people to get around in rural areas. Educational programs for young people, for example, could show films documenting the history of youth organizations alongside current blogs and Instagram stories.